Born in Rubtsovsk in the Altai region in Russia's freezing Siberia, Raisa Titarenko married Mikhail Gorbachev on 25 September 1953, having first met him while studying at the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute. Although she was a year younger than her husband, Raisa was a year ahead of him when it came to education. She studied philosophy and became a teacher. The Gorbachevs wanted children and Raisa defied the risks her doctor told her that a weakened heart as a result of an earlier illness could endanger her in childbirth just so she could have her daughter Irina with Mikhail. At home, Raisa was nicknamed Zakharka.

A faithful wife to the last leader of the Soviet Union, Raisa worked to bring awareness of children's issues and galvanised the participation of women in politics by setting up Raisa Maksimovna's Club. She even welcomed youth delegates to the Kremlin in place of her husband.
Sadly, Raisa Gorbachev was diagnosed with Leukaemia (a form of cancer that effects the bone marrow) in July 1999 and died while being treated for the disease in Germany with Mikhail and Irina by her side on 20 September 1999 at the age of 67. Her body was repatriated (brought back to her home country) and she was buried in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery.